


From Toe to Head

by octopus_fool



Series: Yuletide Cheer [8]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mistletoe, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 03:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16802608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopus_fool/pseuds/octopus_fool
Summary: When Bilbo talks about an old hobbit tradition, even the most drunken dwarves take note.Main pairing is Kíli/Ori.





	From Toe to Head

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 2 of [Arda Advent](http://ardaprompts.tumblr.com/post/180626386876/join-me-in-creating-wintery-fanworks-about), the prompt was "mistletoe".

Ori looked out into the misty evening. Their host’s warnings to stay inside and Gandalf’s hints at his true nature did little to make him feel at home. Most of his companions were just happy to be away from the goblins and in a place where mead was in vast supply. Kíli, who sat next to Ori, had long since gone from talkative to dazed. Ori was not certain how much of the conversation he could still follow. 

Dori frowned disapprovingly, but Ori didn’t mind, he was still glowing from the fact that Kíli had chosen to sit next to him. He had regaled him with drunken singing and while Ori knew he shouldn’t think too much of it, the illusion that it might mean something kept the tense feeling at bay that he got whenever he turned around to look through the window out into the mist. 

Ori was startled from his reverie when Bilbo stumbled back into the hall, his face flushed. “I just wanted to warn that Beorn has a lot of mistletoe hanging at the end of the corridor. I wouldn’t want to let you stumble on it at unawares.”

Thorin had his hand on his sword the moment Bilbo returned to the hall. “Mistletoe? What’s that? Is it dangerous?”

“It’s a plant, as far as I know,” Óin replied, his brow furrowed. “Some say it has healing properties, but I’ve never heard of it being dangerous.”

“It’s not, except for your dignity,” Bilbo huffed. “And it’s rather inappropriate.”

The dwarves, at least the ones that weren’t using the table as an improvised pillow in their inebriated state, stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

“Laddy, how can a plant be inappropriate?” Balin asked.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know... of course you don’t! Never mind, forget that I said anything.” Bilbo flushed even more.

“Go on, tell us!” Nori prompted. “You can’t promise us sordidly inappropriate tales about a plant and then leave us guessing!”

Dori rapped him over the head. “If it’s inappropriate, it’s best to leave it unsaid.” He nodded over in Ori’s direction.

“I am of age,” Ori said. “I can handle an inappropriate tale or two.”

“Yes, he’s of age,” Kíli mumbled in agreement, showing more consciousness than Ori had thought he still possessed.

“I want to hear this inap... inpropaness,” Glóin slurred. “The bawdier, the better. Does it involve beards?”

Bilbo choked so hard that Balin had to thump him on the back. 

“No, it does not involve beards! And it isn’t bawdy either, just... inappropriate. There is an old hobbit tradition concerning mistletoe which is still popular in certain circles: if two people walk under it at the same time, they have to kiss, right there in public. I don’t approve of it, of course, I nearly stubbed my toe in shock when I saw it!”

“That’s it?” Nori asked, clearly disappointed. “That’s rather tame, something only hobbits could consider inappropriate.”

Bilbo huffed and took a swig of mead, probably to conceal his still flushed face.

“I think my uncle rather would have liked it if Bilbo had stubbed his toe,” Kíli whispered loudly into Ori’s ear.

Ori shrugged. He had the impression that Thorin had recently started to become fond of the hobbit and wouldn’t wish pain on him. But then again, Kíli probably knew Thorin a lot better then Ori did. 

Ori needed a break from the celebrations in Lake-town. While it was rather nice that the suspicion had turned to welcome, the air in the Master’s hall was getting stuffy and the noise of the celebrations was starting to ring in Ori’s ears. Besides, he hadn’t seen Kíli in quite some time and wondered where he could be. They had grown even closer during the journey and the shock of seeing Kíli nearly being hit by that orc’s arrow during their escape from the dungeons of the Elvenking still sat deep. 

The air outside was wonderfully cool, even though Ori knew it wouldn’t take long before the chill and the mist rising from the lake and settling over the town would send him back inside again. 

Ori decided to take a short walk. The system of wooden planks and bridges that led through the town was rather fascinating, but all the water underneath gave Ori an uneasy feeling. He didn’t think he would like to live in a town like this for a longer amount of time.

As he turned the corner of one of the wooden houses, Ori spotted a figure shrouded in mist standing on one of the bridges. The shape seemed familiar and too small for one of the men, so Ori headed towards it. 

He had guessed correctly and it was Kíli.

“Mind if I join you?”

Kíli smiled at him. “Of course not!”

“It’s rather loud and stuffy in there, isn’t it?” Ori said.

“It is, and I decided I hadn’t taken a good look around the town yet. It’s a shame the mist is preventing us from getting a good look at Erebor.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while, their shoulders almost touching.

“I’m starting to get cold,” Kíli finally said. “Are you coming too, or do you want to stay a bit longer?”

“I’ll join you,” Ori replied. 

They set off back towards the hall. As they walked up a set of stairs, there was a loud clonk.

“I stubbed my toe. In the mist.” Kíli looked at Ori meaningfully. 

“Oh, are you alright? Does it hurt badly?”

The look on Kíli’s face told Ori that that was not the reaction Kíli had been hoping for. “It’s not too painful. But according to Bilbo’s strange traditions, that means we have to kiss, doesn’t it?”

Ori stared at Kíli in confusion. “What traditions?”

“The ones he told us about at Beorn’s house. If you stub your toe in the mist, the person you are walking with has to kiss you. It’s just a silly hobbit tradition of course, you obviously don’t have to if you don’t want to. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable...”

Nonsense or not, Ori decided that this was not an opportunity he wanted to miss, especially since he didn’t want Kíli to look this disappointed. 

Kíli’s lips were warm under his and his stubble caught pleasantly in Ori’s beard. It was all Ori had been hoping for since Rivendell, and more. 

When they finally pulled apart for air, Ori couldn’t help but giggle against Kíli’s neck.

“Stubbed toes in the mist? Really?”

“Hey, that’s what Bilbo said, wasn’t it? If you stub your toe on a misty evening, you have to kiss, even if you are in public!”

Ori giggled harder and planted a kiss on Kíli’s cold nose. “Not quite, he wasn’t talking about mist and toes, he was talking about _mistletoe_. If I remember correctly, you were a little drunk and half asleep that evening.”

“What’s mistletoe?” Kíli asked, confusion plain on his face. 

“It’s a plant. Come, I’ll show you. I saw some of it earlier.” Ori unwrapped himself from Kíli’s arms and took his hand to pull him back to the hall. Kíli didn’t have to know that Ori had taken a close look at those plants in Beorn’s house, just in case an opportunity presented itself. And he really didn’t need to know that when Ori spotted the same plants hanging in some of the alcoves of the hall tonight, he had quickly cobbled together a plan which just might have worked if Kíli hadn’t just disappeared. 

Ori led Kíli through the crowds in the hall towards one of the alcoves. “The tradition is that if two people step under mistletoe at the same time, they have to kiss. No toe stubbing involved, that was just Bilbo being clumsy. I’m afraid you could have spared yourself the pain.”

Kíli squeezed Ori’s hand and grinned goofily. “It was worth it.”

Ori grinned back at him. “Well, I just want to show you this plant and then we can continue where we left off and... Oh.”

Apparently, Ori had not been the only one to spot the mistletoe. It seemed that Bilbo had changed his mind about the inappropriateness of certain traditions and was giving Thorin a thorough demonstration of them instead.

Kíli stifled a laugh against the hand that was not currently holding onto Ori’s as if he was never going to let it go again. 

“That was about time,” he whispered into Ori’s ear.

Ori nodded. “It was. But there are other alcoves where we can try out these strange customs properly.”

**Author's Note:**

> There are still Arda Advent prompts for which I don't have ideas yet, so if there are any slash or femslash pairings (no incest though, sorry!) or Gen combinations you'd like to see, let me know (either in a comment or a tumblr ask, I'm ridiculoussquid) and I'll try to come up with something (Bagginshield and Thorin/Dwalin are planned anyway, so no need to request those)! If you've looked at my stories, you'll know that I mostly write for the Hobbit fandom, but I'm trying to do more LotR and Silmarillion stories too, so I'll also take suggestions for those (just no guarantees).


End file.
